I have a longstanding love affair with shoes. While women’s’ inconsistent sizing has failed me nearly all my life, I have never experienced that same pain and heartbreak with shoes, and thus, this lifelong obsession began. As a geek fashion veteran, I am aware that there are options out there for anyone who wants to add a bit of geek flair to their feet. In fact, the idea has become pretty mainstream in the past few years, with geeky collaborations from brands ranging from Vans to Rag and Bone to, yes, Christian Louboutin. But, even with those options, I still firmly believe that geeky custom shoes and their amazing artists are still the unsung heroes of nerdy fashion.

Yes: they’re going to cost a little more than, say, a pair of sneakers from ThinkGeek. Yes, you may have to give them a little extra TLC despite obsessively using weatherproof spray on them. So why in the world opt for a hand-painted piece rather than those easily mass-produced shoes?